Maliki Orders Iraqi Army to Guard Pipelines, Oil Refineries

June 15 (Bloomberg) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki
ordered the army to boost protection of the country’s pipelines
and refineries from sabotage.

“Any breaches will cause problems at the Dora and Baiji
refineries and the pipelines feeding the power stations,”
Maliki said yesterday during a televised Cabinet meeting on the
government’s performance during its first 100 days.

The armed forces took command from the police for
protecting the Baiji refinery, north of Baghdad, about 15 days
ago, said Lieutenant General Faruq al-Araji, director of the
chief commander’s military office. Cameras have also been
installed in various locations across the capital to help
prevent attacks, he said.

Violence has intensified in Iraq amid a political deadlock
before the planned withdrawal of U.S. troops by the end of the
year. Attacks have targeted pipelines, refineries and the
central bank. Iraq, home to the world’s fifth-biggest oil
reserves, is struggling to boost energy production and exports
after years of conflict, economic sanctions and sabotage.

Output at Baiji, which can process 250,000 barrels a day
and is Iraq’s biggest refinery, was disrupted for several days
after an attack on Feb. 26. A pipeline carrying Iraqi oil from
the northern Kirkuk fields to the Turkish Mediterranean port of
Ceyhan was damaged by an explosion in March, knocking out as
much as a quarter of crude exports for a few days.

The Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline has been the target of attacks
before by Kurdish rebels on the Turkish side. Attacks on the
Iraqi side are more frequent as the pipeline runs through a
region where al-Qaeda and other armed groups operate. Insurgents
have targeted Iraq’s oil installations since the 2003 U.S.-led
invasion.

Militants yesterday raided a provincial government building
and took hostages in the city of Baquba, north of Baghdad,
leading to a clash with security forces that left nine people
dead and 32 wounded, Hassan Al Sunaid, head of the Security and
Defense Committee, told reporters in the capital.